At least one Curry County jail employee has been placed on paid administrative leave and "more than one" appears to have violated county policy in connection with Sunday's jail escape, County Manager Lance Pyle said Monday night.
The inmate police described as "dangerous" ran out an unsecured door when a detention officer became "distracted" during a work detail, officials have said.
Narcizo Soto Jr., 35, who became the jail's 14th escapee in nine years when he ran away at 1:23 a.m. Sunday, was captured by law officers about 7:45 Sunday night.
Undersheriff Wesley Waller said Soto was found hiding in the attic of a relative's home in the 1300 block of Hinkle Street. Sheriff's deputies and Clovis police officers returned him to jail without incident, Waller said.
Interim jail administrator Tori Sandoval said Sunday that Soto was immediately placed in an isolation cell when he was returned to the jail.
Soto was stripping floors with two other inmates in the jail's administrative offices when he escaped.
"It is my understanding that a detention officer was supervising the three inmates, but became distracted prior to the escape," Waller said.
Officials have declined to say how the guard was distracted. Pyle said the issue is one reason the investigation has not been completed. He said he wants a thorough investigation and hopes it will be complete by the end of this week.
Pyle declined to say whether the distracted guard was placed on leave or whether the guard violated policy. He said officials are reviewing video related to the policy and conducting interviews with staff.
Waller said Soto, described as "dangerous" in a news release, escaped from the jail by exiting a door normally accessible only to administration and staff.
Sandoval said Sunday a jail official watching a surveillance camera saw the inmate escape and that Clovis police were notified "in less than a minute."
Soto was being held on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, assault on a household member and a federal probation violation related to a narcotics conviction, Waller said.
Assistant County Manager Connie Harrison said county officials on Sunday were conducting an "administrative investigation" into the incident. She said no injuries were reported as a result of the escape, but declined to provide additional information until the investigation is complete.
Soto was arrested in June after eluding police for more than three months.
He is accused of shooting at his girlfriend's car while her child was in it on Feb. 26. He is also being held without bond on a warrant from U.S. marshals, officials said.
The girlfriend told police she was standing outside her vehicle in the 400 block of Hickory Street and her 8-year-old child was in the passenger seat. She said Soto pulled up beside her and fired two rounds into the driver's side of her car and drove away.
The child was not injured.
In June, Soto was arrested without incident at a Clovis hotel, where he'd been staying with the girlfriend, police said.
Sunday's escape was the 14th by inmates in custody of Curry County jail officials since 2002. The most notable occurred Aug. 24, 2008. That's when eight inmates, described by officials as violent, escaped from the jail by climbing through the roof. Convicted child killer Edward Salas remains at large.
Multiple other problems have also plagued the jail in recent years, including attempted escapes, mistaken releases and inmates failing to return from medical furloughs.
Curry County Commission Chairman Caleb Chandler expressed frustration at the latest incident.
"I think like everybody else in the county I'm wondering when we're going to see some degree of competency at the jail. I think that's a question county administration is going to have to address," he said.
Pyle said he is also frustrated by the continuing problems at the jail.
"When I got the call at 2 o'clock Sunday morning, my response was the same as everybody else: Unbelievable. This is embarrassing," he said.
"We have some great employees over there. We just have a few who make mistakes and make everybody look bad. These mistakes are unacceptable. They cannot happen."
Officials have cited poor construction of the facility, limitations in organizing inmates within the facility and overcrowding as ongoing reasons for the jail's problems.
Last November, county commissioners presented voters with two bond questions aimed at increasing gross receipts and property taxes to build a new jail and courthouse.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the bond issues with a near 73 percent vote against both.
The jail has also been through 10 administrators in five years. Sandoval was named interim administrator in September after Keith Norwood resigned following 15 months on the job.
Norwood said his resignation was voluntary and he was not asked by county officials to leave the post. The resignation came just a day after county commissioners met in a closed session to discuss personnel, the details of which they declined to discuss.
Copyright 2011 - Clovis News Journal, N.M.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
